43. Ship

Early the next morning, Aurelius was awakened by a noise.

He yawned and climbed out of bed. This is Aurelius' dormitory, a room of one or two hundred square meters, complete with bedrooms, guest rooms, living rooms, kitchens, and bathrooms.

Since joining the circus, Skender has let Aurelius live here alone.

It has to be said that Skender is cruel to animals, rude, and arrogant, but he is not bad to wizards. Especially the wizards under him can be said to be treated with great courtesy.

The three wizards, including Aurelius, all live in dormitories of one to two hundred square meters. As for the location of the dormitory, Aurelius didn't even expect it to be a ship! It looks like a wooden sailboat only thirty or forty meters long, with a huge interior space.

Not only are everyone's quarters on the ship but so are the animal pens.

Aurelius has been on the ship for more than half a month. This also made Aurelius admire these people who deal with magical animals. Everyone seems to have mastered an exquisite invisible stretching spell. Newt has a small world with him, and Skender is no less generous. Due to his proficiency in the Seamless Stretch Charm, Skender is also very generous with these things. Hearing that Aurelius had a lot of luggage, he gave him a suitcase without saying anything.

The space inside was no smaller than his room on the ship. That's three to four hundred cubic meters of space! The protagonists of those novels in my previous life get this size of portable space-ring.

"Why are you running a circus with such skills? How about setting up a stall to sell storage rings?" Aurelius was puzzled. You must know that even if the Traceless Stretching Spell can be learned in many places, only a handful of people can create such a large space.

Anyway, in Aurelius's eyes, Skender's opening of a store specializing in seamless stretching props would be more profitable than the circus.

Open the dormitory door and you will find the cabin, always in line with Skender's style – plenty of space! It can only be said that it is inappropriate not to have the title of Master of Traceless Stretching.

"You are..." As soon as he went out, Aurelius met someone. After taking a look at him, Aurelius recognized him. He should be a clown in the circus. The performance was heavily painted, but Aurelius could recognize him by his size.

He was too short.

If he hadn't heard Igor mention it, Aurelius would have mistaken him for a wizard with goblin blood. He was only about 1.4 meters tall and short and fat. Only those who have witnessed his performances can truly appreciate the incredible flexibility of this seemingly pudgy little man.

"Aurelius, the beast tamer." Aurelius extended his hand.

"Oh! So you're the new guy? Haha! It's the first time we've met, but Skender has been talking about you for ages. He's almost obsessed with that massive oriental cat. Anyway, I'm Carlos Daniel, but please just call me Carlos." Carlos's expressions and movements were a bit exaggerated as if it were a habitual part of his job as a clown.

Clowns often exaggerate their expressions and movements to elicit laughter from the audience.

Jingle bells - dah la la -

"Let—" A rough voice interrupted the friendly atmosphere between the two.

Aurelius turned his head to see Jon the Bear approaching.

Getting a closer look, his muscles seemed even more imposing, and the scars beneath his snow-white fur were more visible.

Jon's eyes were cold, and heavy shackles encased his hands and legs, with a large iron ball dragging behind his ankles.

The sound of the iron chain and ball dragging on the ground filled the air.

Clearly uninterested in meeting his new colleague, Jon walked past with heavy steps.

Carlos pulled Aurelius aside, making way for Jon, and whispered, "Don't mess with him. He has a bad temper."

Aurelius had keen eyesight. Despite Carlos's low voice, he noticed Jon's ears twitch. It seemed that even a whisper couldn't escape Jon's notice.

But Jon continued on without stopping, descending the stairs to the second floor where the Squibs and Strangers resided.

"I never knew Jon was a wizard too. That wasn't his original name. I heard he came from an ancient family in the Soviet Union," Carlos sighed, watching Jon's retreating figure.

"So, he..." Aurelius trailed off.

"It was a potion mishap," Carlos explained softly. "He accidentally used a powerful polyjuice potion, but little did he know that the hair he added was from a white bear. And that's how he ended up like this."

Aurelius frowned in confusion.

Drinking polyjuice potion mixed with animal tissue? Wasn't that what Hermione did? Doesn't that have temporary effects?

"Then he's still a wizard?" Aurelius asked. "Even if he took the wrong potion, his magical abilities wouldn't be taken away, right?"

"I'm not entirely sure about that. I've never seen or heard of Jon using magic," Carlos admitted with a shake of his head.

He's just an average wizard. Unless you're a scholarly expert, you wouldn't know about these things.

"Are you well-versed in potions?" Carlos asked curiously. "If so, you should ask Skender for a raise. Injuries are common in the circus, and we rely on potions."

"No, my grades in Potions class were average," Aurelius confessed, smiling truthfully. He had only been exposed to magic for three or four months, yet he had managed to learn all the spells due to his extraordinary talent. However, he wondered how he would find the time to study the more time-consuming potions. Perhaps he deserved recognition for his achievements.

"That's such a pity. Are you hungry? Mog's culinary skills are impressive," Carlos invited.

"Mog?" he asked.

"A wild house elf that the boss discovered," Carlos explained.

"Really? Then let's go together," Aurelius readily agreed.

As they walked out of the cabin and onto the plywood, it seemed as though the world suddenly shrank. The plywood should have been bigger, but due to the traceless stretching spell, it appeared even narrower than the corridor in the cabin. There was nothing they could do about it, as the Traceless Stretching Spell required a container. Since the splint was exposed, they couldn't enjoy the seamless stretching effect.

They entered the space to find three roughly set up large tables. In the front was a stove, complete with a grill. A disheveled house elf was waving its arms, directing various ingredients to jump into the cooking pot. Soon, fragrant delicacies floated out from the utensils and were placed on the tables.

The appearance may have been average, but the aroma was so enticing that even a whiff from a distance was enough to make one's mouth water.